South African Labor Party

The South African Labor Party was a social democratic political party in South Africa that was active from 1910 to 1958. The party was founded as the result of discussions between labor unions and the Independent Labor Party in Transvaal, and it received support mostly from white urban workers, seeking to protect them from black and other non-white workers. In 1924, the Labor Party helped the National Party in defeating the South African Party, forming "the Pact" with the NP. When the National Party formed a coalition with the South African Party in 1933, "the Pact" came to an end, and Creswell's faction became supporters of Genreal Jan Smuts after the election. In 1939, the party joined the wartime coalition during World War II, and it left in 1945. During the 1950s, the party tried to pursue a socialist policy as well as maintaining relations with groups such as the African National Congress, but its policies were far too left-leaning for the Afrikaner electorate, leading to its demise in 1958.